


Curious Minds

by dragonwings948



Series: Wonderland [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Angst, Audio 052: Scherzo, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Introspection, POV Charley, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25187980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: The Doctor shows Charley a black hole and introduces her to the infinity of space. | Charley considers if she made the right choice following the Doctor into the Divergent Universe.
Relationships: Eighth Doctor & Charley Pollard
Series: Wonderland [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814560
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	Curious Minds

_Didn’t they tell us don’t rush into things?_

_Didn’t you flash your green eyes at me?_

_Haven’t you heard what becomes of curious minds?_

**Then...**

Charley’s mother had always berated her for jumping into things before thinking, for taking unnecessary risks.

She wondered what her mother would say if she could see her now.

“And you’re _sure_ this is safe?”

“Completely!” the Doctor called beneath her. “Just keep a hold of the TARDIS.”

Not wanting to know what would happen if she didn’t, Charley ignored the fact that she was pretty much floating in the middle of space and gripped the edge of the TARDIS’ roof. “I’ve got it!”

“Good! One, two, three!” The Doctor gave her legs a boost and Charley wrapped her arms around the light on top of the TARDIS. Somehow, even in the vacuum of space, it felt warm to the touch.

“Charley, are you all right?”

“Yes!” She hauled herself completely onto the roof, taking a moment to catch her breath. Her heart thumped wildly in her ears. But it _was_ rather difficult to breathe easily when one found themselves surrounded by infinite space.

Charley lost herself in the indescribable view. It was the absolute definition of a sight to take your breath away. How could she begin to explain the swirling colours of deep blue and purple with red and yellow pinpricks of stars?

“Charley, are you there? My arms are getting a bit tired.”

“Oh, yes! Sorry!” She leaned over the edge to see the Doctor handing up a tea tray. _Of course._ So that was what he’d been doing while the TARDIS was in flight. Rolling her eyes, Charley took the tray and carefully pulled it into her lap. The Doctor had thought of everything—not only was there a teapot, but also two cups with saucers as well as milk and sugar.

“You never really explained; how can we breathe out here?”

Instead of answering, the Doctor jumped and grabbed onto the edge of the roof with a grunt. Charley looked helplessly at the tea tray in her lap, knowing there was really nowhere else to put it so that she could help the Doctor. However, he pulled himself up on his own, sighing as he maneuvered beside her on the other side of the light. Once he was settled he grinned at her.

“There we are. Now all we need is some tea.” The Doctor took the tray and balanced it on top of their legs. He poured a cup of tea for Charley and then one for himself.

It was silent for a few moments. Charley sipped at her tea, feeling the warmth trail down her throat and into her stomach. She considered that she _should_ feel cold, being in the middle of space, but actually the temperature seemed quite normal. And thinking of that…

“Doctor? How _can_ we be out here?”

“Oh. TARDIS shielding, of course. It keeps in the air and the gravity.” He pointed straight ahead into space. “There you are, Charley. A black hole.”

Charley squinted, but couldn’t see anything that looked like a black hole. She frowned. “I don’t see anything.”

“You’re not looking for the hole. You’re looking for what’s _around_ it.”

Charley looked again, trying to figure out what he was talking about. She _did_ notice that in that direction there were several stars and—were those _planets?—_ clustered close together. “Do you mean there?” she asked, pointing. “Where all those things are sort of grouped together?”

“Yes, exactly. That is a black hole. Invisible, but powerful. Matter is being compressed into a tiny space. It generates so much gravity that not even light can escape—that’s why we can’t see it.”

“Gosh,” Charley murmured. “And what happens inside?”

“Time slows down. After that—nothing.”

“So all of those stars and planets are being destroyed?”

“Yes.” He gazed ahead solemnly. “There’s a circle of life in space too, you know, just like there is on Earth.”

Charley looked at him, wondering at this strange man who thought so little of ultimate destruction. She wondered for a brief instant if she had done the right thing in coming with him. Was this all the universe was: death and decay?

“Are there people on those planets?”

The Doctor shook his head. “No, they evacuated ages ago.” He looked over at her, his eyes so full of life that Charley thought even a black hole wouldn’t be able to snuff it out. She realised that somehow, in this huge, inconceivable universe which she could have never imagined, the man who knew about it all cared for her. Everything that created this scene—space, the stars, the black hole, the TARDIS, the tea, even—it was his heart, and he was sharing it with her.

“What do you think?” he asked, his voice reverently quiet.

Charley once again looked out into unbounded space. Under normal circumstances it might have terrified her, but here, having an impossible tea party with an impossible man, she somehow knew that this was right where she belonged.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yes.” He breathed out a contented sigh. “I’ve always thought so too.”

* * *

**Now...**

As Charley wandered through a mysterious world with only a shadow of the man she loved at her side, a question kept repeating itself in her head.

_Did I do the right thing?_

She hadn’t chosen this universe because she’d wanted to. She hadn’t chosen this universe because she was running away from her fate. In fact, she hadn’t chosen this universe at all.

She had chosen the Doctor.

But the Doctor clearly hadn’t chosen her.

His cold and bitter words still sat heavily on her heart, throbbing like a physical wound. How had he uttered all of those terrible things? He had spoken of sacrifice, but did he even realise how much _she’d_ sacrificed for _him,_ only to have her love be thrown aside like it was nothing?

Maybe the Doctor was right. Maybe she _had_ made the wrong choice in coming here. Maybe she’d simply rushed into it without considering the consequences.

But then she pictured the Doctor in this place by himself without even a hand to hold or a voice to speak to. Even if she had to make the choice again, she wouldn’t condemn him to this fate alone, even after enduring his cruelty.

“How long do you think it’s been this time?”

The Doctor’s voice startled Charley from her thoughts.

“How long since we’ve spoken?” he continued.

“It hardly matters, does it? Since apparently my sense of time is so inaccurate,” she replied drily.

“But aren’t you curious?”

Charley sighed. “Sometimes, Doctor, I think you may be _too_ curious.”

“There’s no such thing. You know, I’ve never actually seen curiosity kill a cat.” He paused. “It’s three days, if you were wondering.”

Three days of silence.

Three days of pondering whether or not her best friend was truly her best friend anymore.


End file.
